History of the Filatov Institute

The Fialtov Institute of the Tissue Therapy of the National Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine was esteblished by an outstanding scientist-ophthalmologist academician Vladimir Petrovich Filatov on the fourth of April 1936.

Since the day of its creation and so far the Filatov Institute has been one of the leaders of the world medical science and practical medicine.

Vladimir Filatov was among the first in the world who performed successfully corneal transplantation in 1938. During the post-war years there were a lot of people with leukoma after being wounded, they became blind. That’s why corneal transplantation gave a unique chance to save the vision. Consequence of the war stimulated F.P.Filatov to make another invention – “Filatov’s walking stem”. Because of its deficiency on the head, skin should be delivered to the area of surgery from the shoulder, for example. To do this, a rectangularpatch ofskin was cut, replaced towards the area of surgery and sewed. After skin’s catching on, the operation was repeated. It seemed to bea surprisinglysimple solution! But it became a really revolutionary and it opened a new era in reconstructive plastic surgery.

It was Vladimir Filatov who created tissue preparations increasing restoration capability of the organism and preventing development of post operative complications. “Aloe”, “Fibs”, “Suspension ofthe placenta” and many other preparations were introduced in the clinical practice at the Filatov Institute.

Vladimir Filatov headed the Institute from 1936 to 1956. During his long life the academician grew up a pleiad of outstanding scientists, among them – academician N.A. Puchkovskaya, who headed the Institute for 29 years after Filatov’s death, professors B.S.Brodsky, S.F.Kalfa, V.V.Voino-Yasinetsky, Z.M.Skripnichenko, N.I.Shpak, S.A.Barkhash, A.I.Pakhomova, and many others.

During the Great Patriotic War the Institute was evacuated to Tashkent where Vladimir Filatov was a Principal Consultant atthe military eye hospital. Tens of collaborators of the Institute were off at the front where they were working at the military hospitals until war end. In September 1944 V.P.Filatov and collaborators returned to Odessa.

During those post-war years there was a great flow of people suffering from burns and traumas after being wounded. In 1946 the Department of Eye Burns and Traumas was created at the Institute. Academician V.P.Filatov entrusted his disciple Nadezhda Aleksandrovna Puchkovskaya, doctor of medical science and captain of medical service to head the Department.

After the death of V.P.Filatov in 1956 Nadezhda Aleksandrovna Puchkovskaya headed the Institute which got the name of its founder in 1945. Being an excellent clinician and masterful surgeon-ophthalmologists, N.A. Puchkovskaya made a great contribution in the world and national ophthalmology. The scope of her interests includes issues on optic keratoplasty, keratoprosthesis, pathogenesis and treatment of eye burns and their consequences. She developed two stages method for surgery of extensiveadhesions of the eyelids and cornea enabling to recover the sight of hopelesslyblind patients. Thousands of patients were operated on. The vision of most of them was recovered. In 1978 academician N.A. Puchkovskaya, professor N.S. Shulgina, professor G.V.Legeza and V.P. Nyepomyashchaya were awarded the State Prize of Ukraine for studying eye burns pathogenesis and developing new methods of treatment for eye burns and their consequences.

She took an active part in creating first domestic lasers, developing techniques for laser operations and introducing ultrasound into the clinical ophthalmology. In 1963 professor Leonid Linnik first in the world performed successfully laser coagulation, “welded” the retina of the human eye, beginning era of “Lasers in ophthalmology”. At that time in the world there was no analogue to photo coagulator OK-1 which was designed together with CB “Tochmash”. Stimulating effect of low-power laser radiation on the retina was put in the basis of treatment of dystrophic diseases.

From 1985 to 2004 the Institute was headed by another Filatov’s disciple Ivan Mikhailovich Logai, professor, Doctor of Medical Science, State Prize of Ukraine winner, Honored worker of Science and Technology of Ukraine.

For 18 years of his heading the Institute there were developed new devices and tools, new diagnostics, a magnet for foreign bodies removal from posterior segment of the eye, original method of foreign bodies removal from the lens with keeping it transparent; solved issues due to eye injuries and keratogenesis; created Ukrainian school of ophthalmic traumatologists.

The Filatove Institute had different titles at different times:

1936 - Institute of Experimental Ophthalmology

1942 - Ukrainian Experimental Institute of Eye Diseases

1945 - Institute was given the name of academician Vladimir Filatov

1956 - Ukrainian Research Experimental Institute of Eye Diseases and Tissue Therapy named after Acad. V.Filatov /Order of Ministry of Health of the USSR № 3 from 17.01.56/

1966 - Odessa Research Institute of Eye Diseases and Tissue Therapy named after Acad. V.Filatov /Order of the Ministry of Health of the USSR from 18.01.65/

1986 - Odessa Red Banner of Labour Research Institute of Eye Diseases and Tissue Therapy named after Acad. V.Filatov /Resolution of the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the USSR from 10.04.68/

1992 - Ukrainian Research Institute of Eye Diseases and Tissue Therapy named after Acad. V.Filatov /order of the Ministry of Health of the USSR №15 from 22.01.92/

1993 - Institute is subordinated to Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine /Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine from 22.03.1993/

1993 – The Filatov Institute of Eye Diseases and Tissue Therapy of Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine /Order of the Academy of Medical Sciences №12 from 29.09.1993/

2012 – State Institution «The Filatov Institute of Eye Diseases and Tissue Therapy of National Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine» /Resolution of the NAMS of Ukraine №4/12 from 28.02.2012/

Since 2004 the Institute has been headed by Nataliya Vladimirovna Pasyechnikova, corresponding member of National academy of medical science of Ukraine, professor, Honored doctor of Ukraine, a disciple of Tatiana Vladimirovna Shlopak (she was a disciple of V.P.Filatov). Thus, there is continuous connection between generations of Filatov disciples.

The collapse of the great state, change of social and economical structures and global crisis destroyed a lot of research institutions and schools, but the Filatov Institute survived, passed through all the trials, and saved the staff. Nowadays the representatives of old generation are still working at the Institute and share their experience with young ophthalmologists.

Today the main work of the Institute is focused on the development of fundamental and applied problems of ophthalmology, which are as follows:

Study of the pathogenesis of eye diseases by modern immunological, pathomorphological, biochemical, pharmacological, radiological and other methods.

Creation of new methods for ocular pathology diagnosis and treatment with the use of priority elaborations of the Filatov Institute on tissue transplantation, stimulation and therapeutic laser radiation, ultrasonic, magnet and ionized radiation, biological tissue cryotherapy, immunology, endocrinology and tissue therapy.

Development of new methods of diagnosis and treatment of the retina and vitreous, using up-to-date achievements of modern science.

Development of comprehensive programs for rehabilitation of patients with ocular pathology.

Great attention is paid to high-frequency electrical welding of biological tissues. During the 12th Congress “Euretina” (6-8 September, 2012) the group of researchers of the Filatov Institute (Nataliya Pasyechnikova, corr. member of NAMSU, Vladimir Naumenko, MD, Nikolai Umanets, PhD) was awarded the second prize "Euretina Innovation Awards" for the research “Application of high-frequency electrical welding in vitreoretinal surgery”.

The Filatov Institute remains a leader in many directions which have been developed since the time of academician V.P.Filatov. These are keratoplasty, corneal transplantation, diagnosis and treatment of the retinal diseases, and, of course, ophthalmooncology. The superiority of the Institute here is undeniable. And today, every effort is made to keep it. The specialists of the Institute apply for fellowships abroad. And ophthalmologists from Russia, Belarus, Egypt, Hungary, Bulgaria and other countries come to the Institute to adopt experience.

The Filatov Institute has made a great contribution in the development of the world and national ophthalmic science. It is well known all over the world. No Congress goes without representatives of the Filatov Institute.